This week, the 2016 presidential race was roiled by the announcement that former GOP nominee and 2012 loser Mitt Romney was, against all logic, getting his band back together to mount yet another run for the White House. This has baffled everyone.

Now, America has long been an exceptionally redemptive society. Even if you screw up really badly, if you are willing to reflect long and hard, learn from your mistakes, and demonstrate a commitment to a larger purpose than your own ego, you can emerge on the other side and begin anew.

After years of planning and discussion, many of the financial regulations that resulted from the 2008 financial crisis -- specifically, FATCA and elements of Dodd-Frank, such as the Volcker Rule -- are finally coming into effect. Here are some important dates that financial institutions need to keep in mind over the next few months

The so-called Volcker Rule for policing (ha!) banking practices, approved by a huddle of federal regulating agency chiefs last week, is the latest joke that America has played on itself in what is becoming the greatest national self-punking exercise in world history.